Kalispell Middle School is working on a project that could help connect its students to nature and their food, but to make it happen, the public has to connect to the Internet and vote.
The school is currently in the running to win a competition called Communities Take Root, sponsored by Dreyer’s Fruit Bars, which would bring a fruit orchard to the school grounds.
To win the competition, the school’s proposed orchard needs to get the most online votes before the end of May at www.communitiestakeroot.com. Voting began on April 16.
Allison Mitchell, a KMS librarian with a “passion for gardening and local foods,” said the orchard would be named Grace Orchard: Nourishing Connections at Kalispell Middle School. It would be named in honor of Barry Grace, an administrator for 17 years who is retiring this year and supported farm-to-school efforts.
The orchard would hopefully include 30 to 40 fruit trees, Mitchell said, producing apples, pears and plums. The students would then have the chance to help cultivate their food, giving them an appreciation for local food sources.
“We want it because we want food for our school program,” Mitchell said. “And how cool to get produce that the kids pick themselves?”
The idea to apply for the Communities Take Root program came after the middle school unsuccessfully applied for a grant. That grant program, however, put them in touch with the Dreyer’s competition, and KMS became one of over 100 potential orchard sites across the country.
Initially, the idea of planting an orchard and growing their own food baffled some of the students, Mitchell said.
“When we started this, the biggest question we got from kids was, ‘What is an orchard?’” Mitchell said. “It’s been educational.”
The students were also impressed that their own children could also some day eat from this orchard if the school wins the competition, she said, since orchards are planted for future generations.
Another plus of having an orchard would be that once it is producing fruit at full capacity, the overflow could go to the local food banks, Mitchell said. It’s a way to connect the students to the land, to their food source and to their community, she said.
If the school wins, Mitchell said the orchard could go in an irrigated lot near the bus loop. Workers from Dreyer’s and local volunteers would install the orchard in one day, and there would be a large celebration to follow, Mitchell said.
KMS is in a good position to win the orchard, with over 22,000 votes so far, putting them in first place. But Mitchell is asking the Flathead to vote once a day, every day to help give the school the edge it needs to finish on top.
“We are currently in first place, but we need to stay there and it’s kind of this last big push,” she said.
To vote, visit www.communitiestakeroot.com.